Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?
by Goldsaddletank
Summary: Thomas meets an abandoned and derelict E2 tank engine named Matthew, and the discovery of his long lost brother leads him into finding out a secret that one of his friends is keeping hidden in the dark... (Request for asperman1)
1. Bradford Left Behind

**Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?**

A request for asperman1- I hope you enjoy, and please, leave reviews!

…

A weary tank engine straggled home to Tidmouth Sheds after a busy day's work on his branch line. His wheels were feeling weak and wobbly under his sagging frames and weakened whistle, his face crumpled with weariness.

"Phew! I'm certainly not feeling any younger!" He remarked to his driver.

"Well, life makes you feel like that, old boy," His driver replied. "Never mind- you'll soon have your rest."

"Yes…and it's about time, too!" Thomas grumbled good-naturedly, causing his crew to stifle a chuckle.

"Indeed!" Agreed the fireman, mid yawn- before his eyes widened in alarm, and his elbow crashed into his colleague's ribs in warning, and pointed out of the window onto their line. "Look out! There's a red signal ahead!"

The driver shouted. "It's a brake van on the line!" Cursing, his fists closed round the brakes and he yanked down as hard as he could. Thomas felt his braking mechanisms tighten, and he found himself grinding to a halt- just behind the brake van.

"Phew, that was close!"

"That Samson- I did warn him he should watch his couplings! It's against the rules to leave brake vans or any other obstructions on the line!" A new voice interrupted.

"Bradford." Thomas sighed. "Are you alright?" he added in concern.

"No, of course not- I'm breaking the rules just by sitting here! Samson has a lot to answer for when he returns!"

"Now I'm sure he didn't mean to leave you, Bradford." Thomas was aware that Samson could be boastful and cocky, but he would never deliberately leave impediments on the line. "He'll be back soon. But I can push you into that siding in the meantime." He offered.

"You mean shunt, not push," Corrected Bradford pompously. "Engines don't push anyone anywhere- they _shunt_ them. _Pushing_ is for humans. I am very specific about an engine's vocabulary, Thomas."

"Well, I'm glad to hear you're protecting the Queen's English from my poor choice of words." The blue tank engine chuckled cheekily. He did love teasing others, even if he did move on from doing it to every engine he met.

"Hmph! How dare you!" Bradford spluttered.

"Alright, I'll cease the teasing." Thomas conceded, unwilling to risk a tangle with his infamous lectures about disrespect to brake vans. "Here, that siding up the line looks as though it'll be isolated from the rest of the island…" he muttered to himself.

"What was that?"

"Oh, nothing…." Thomas whistled innocently. He switched tracks at the next points, his exhaustion forgotten in his determination to help a friend in need.

"Here you are, Bradford! It might not be the most comfortable siding, but it'll do until I can find Samson and let him know where you are…"

But much to his surprise, Bradford objected to being left on the siding, for an unknown reason.

"I can't stay here!"

"Bradford, come on…this is the nearest siding, and probably the first place Samson will find you…hopefully…" He added silently, trying not to whine throughout, for he was quite tired and he just wanted to get home to Tidmouth now.

"How can I stay here when there's something on the siding with me?" The brake van demanded. "There is a flatbed on the line!"

"Bradford, I'm sure it can wait…perhaps someone else got into the same situation as Samson and it's been shunted out of the way." He attempted to reason, but his words died in his smoke box when he saw something on the flatbed wheels that wasn't meant to be there.

Sprigs and spirals of ivy and weeds curled round the wheels, giving off the impression it hadn't been touched for some time.

Feeling too tired to be curious about this strange flatbed, Thomas decided to compromise with Bradford in order to get him home. "I need to get to Tidmouth, Bradford...but if Samson doesn't collect you, I'll take you to Vicarstown tomorrow - and I'll see what the deal is with that flatbed, too."

"Will you return it to the yards?"

"It'll go where it'll need to go." The tank engine confirmed wearily. Satisfied, Bradford cleared his throat.

"Thank you, Thomas...now go and get some shuteye." Bradford added- his voice unusually soft and pleasant.

"Yes, General Bradford." The tank engine muttered sarcastically.

"THOMAS!" The green brake van yelled angrily, any tender emptions he felt before quickly dissipating.

Thomas darted away from the irascible brake van, giggling to himself as Bradford's protests faded away into the sunset. He did like to tease Bradford from time to time.


	2. Conversations in the Night

That night, shortly after returning to Tidmouth, Thomas told his friends about his encounter with Bradford.

"Huh!" James sniffed snootily. "It's just typical of silly old Samson to leave brake vans on the line! He could cause an accident!"

"Precisely-young engines today should watch their rear coupling rods!" Gordon boomed indignantly.

"I'm sure he didn't mean to!" Percy peeped. "He may be a bit big for his buffers, but he means no harm."

"Percy's right," Agreed Edward solemnly. "We shouldn't be so harsh- we all have our mistakes as well- isn't that right, James?" He added sternly, looking towards his red mixed traffic engine compatriot. James fell silent, allowing his face to flush bright red at remembering.

Thomas was silent through his friends' usual nightly banter. He was still thinking about what had been on that flatbed Bradford had mentioned earlier. Was there even something on it? And why had it been left on the siding?

"Thomas, are you okay?" A small voice whispered, and Thomas looked to see Percy- his dear, dear friend Percy- the engine he regarded as his best friend and even as a brother to him.

"I'm fine, Percy- I've just been thinking..." The blue tank engine trailed off, looking at their friends.

"Thinking about what, Thomas?" His friend questioned innocently.

"Well, about what happened earlier...?" Thomas answered, looking at Percy, and wondering whether to tell him or not. On the one hand, something did seem to be out of the ordinary, and he couldn't place a buffer on it. On the other hand, he didn't actually have any proof that anything was going on.

But then again, Percy was his confidante. He had been the first member of the Steam Team that Thomas told about Hiro, and he knew that he could be trusted to keep a secret.

"Percy, when I shunted Bradford to a siding, he...too offence to being in it..."

Percy raised a quizzical eyebrow at him, causing Thomas to sigh.

"Well, he said there was a flatbed there...do you know whose it was?" And he gave the location to Percy, who had no idea about who the flatbed might belong to.

"Are you free tomorrow morning?" Thomas asked suddenly. "I need to take Bradford to Vicarstown first thing tomorrow morning, and I would like someone to come with me."

"Of course I'll come with you, Thomas!" Percy chuffed. "Besides, we're working together on your Branchline anyway!"

Thomas could not believe he had forgotten this, and he felt like a bit of a silly engine. But hearing Percy giggle good naturedly at this made him feel better about it, and he began chuckling too, much to the bemusement (and annoyance) of the others.

Once they managed to stifle their last traces of amusement, Thomas glanced towards his friend fondly. "Thank you, Percy, for agreeing to come," He said softly. "I'll be happy to have at my side tomorrow."

"Anytime, Thomas- you have heled me out so many times in the past." Percy pointed out. "It's the least I can do." He suddenly yawned. "Sorry, Thomas, I"-

"That's alright, Percy- you did have an exhausting mail run earlier." Thomas answered sympathetically.

The innocent little engine's eyes drifted to a close, and after a while, Thomas heard small, soft snores coming from the berth next to his, before he responded to Percy's last statement.

"Well, it certainly is the least you could do for me-after everything you have done to help me, my friend." He whooshed softly, before allowing himself to join Percy in the realm of deep, deep sleep.


	3. Meeting Matthew

The next morning, Thomas and Percy left Tidmouth Sheds to investigate the flatbed. Thankfully, they were needed to help Mavis at Anopha Quarry anyway, so the two tank engines agreed to check the flatbed out, deal with whatever was on it, and then head there as quick as possible.

However, the two engines didn't realise how difficult this would be...

"What did...um, whatever is was, look like?" Percy asked curiously, causing his best friend to frown.

"Hm...Let's see...it was quite bulky..." he said at last, "and it...well...it was covered by a tarpaulin, and that's it. I was pretty tired last night." Thomas admitted sheepishly.

Percy thought about it for a moment, and then he brightened. "I know...what if it's a forgotten engine?" He asked.

Thomas just laughed.

"Really, Percy-another long lost engine? Arry and Bert would be out of jobs for not manning the scrapyards properly!" He laughed again, causing Percy to pout indignantly.

...

But by the time they arrived at the siding where the flatbed had been seen, Percy had put that incident behind him, and he gasped when he heard a rough voice calling from the bushes.

"Hello, who's there?"

"Cinders and ashes- I forgot about Bradford!" Thomas exclaimed. "Bradford, are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine!" The green brakevan huffed. "But I haven't seen funnel or tail lamp of that Samson! Have you two seen him?"

"Sorry, Bradford, but we haven't." Percy peeped politely. "But I can take you back to Vicarstown to wait for him, if you like." He added. He was curious about the flatbed- but Bradford needed help, and he wasn't going to leave anyone behind.

"I have to deal with that flatbed, like you said to me last night," Added Thomas. "Thanks for taking Bradford back for me."

"You're welcome!" Percy tooted, and he was coupled up to the green brakevan.

Then, Thomas had an idea. "Percy, wait! Rather than wait until you come back, how about you stay a bit longer and find out what's under here?" He offered, causing his smaller friend to frown.

"Well...alright, Thomas," Percy replied. He felt his firebox sizzle with anticipation.

So Thomas' driver and fireman, along with Percy's crew, made their way onto the flatbed and to the tarpaulin –which, much to their disgust, was covered in dust and bird waste- grabbed a corner each, and yanked it off after a count to three.

Underneath the tarpaulin was a small tank engine- he looked exactly the same as Thomas, albeit rather forlorn and neglected, with rusted paintwork, broken windows and a missing whistle. Traces of blue paint gleamed faintly in the pinkish glow.

The engine managed a small smile at the two friends.

"Hello," Thomas said softly, in an attempt to not frighten the stranger "It's okay- you're safe with us. My name's Thomas and this is my best friend"-

"Thomas?"

Percy giggled innocently at the unfortunate timing. "No, my name's Percy!" He explained kindly, to which the new arrival frowned, and then looked at Thomas again.

"Thomas...my name is Matthew. I've found you at last, brother." Matthew smiled again, causing Thomas to gape in shock at the news.

"No...It can't be true..." the blue tank said at last, causing his friends behind him to gasp in shock.

"Thomas!" Percy and Bradford admonished.

"Okay, okay- I didn't mean to call him a liar...it's just...I thought I was the only E2 left...how is this possible? How are you alive? And how did you get to Sodor?" He asked Matthew, still in disbelief and shock over the news.

Matthew almost cowered a little, causing a twinge of guilt to flare in Thomas...but he needed answers.

"I will tell all, brother..." Matthew said quietly. "But, for now, I just want to say- to answer both your questions...I escaped from scrap."

Thomas and Percy both gasped in horror.

"Yes, it was a while ago since it happened," Matthew continued, and his eyes glazed over.

"Matthew, Matthew? Are you with us?" Thomas' driver asked, waving a hand in front of the engine's face. Matthew startled.

"Oh, sorry- I do daydream sometimes." He admitted. "I often wonder what'd it'd be like to be back on the rails again...only, I don't think I'll be fit for work again. I mean, look at me. I'm falling to pieces."

"Nonsense, Matthew!" Thomas blurted out. "We'll help you! Two of our friends run a repair workshop for steam engines at Crovan's Gate! We could take you there and get you repaired!"

"Yes!" Percy added. "Victor's never let down an engine since he came to the Island!"

"Well...if you guys are sure," Matthew said at last, smiling shyly. "Thank you, guys, for offering to help me." 

"You're welcome, Matthew- anything for a friend!" Percy peeped happily. "Well, I better get Bradford to Vicarstown now if we want to be on time for Mavis." He said reluctantly.

"Well, I could take Matthew to the Steamworks now, Percy, seeing as it's so early. Plus Bradford would never get off my tail lamp if I don't." Thomas replied. "We'll head up together- and then you and Bradford can try and catch Samson at Vicarstown."

"Okay!" Percy replied, happy at the prospect of pleasant company on his journey. And so, the two friends set off, with Thomas pulling Matthew, and Percy taking Bradford.

But as the quartet made their way to Crovan's Gate, Thomas had several questions on his mind. _'How did Matthew survive the scrapyard? How, when and why did he come to Sodor? Who, if anyone, helped him escape?_ _Why have I never heard of my brother surviving until now?'_


	4. At the Steamworks

At last, the cavalcade reached the Steamworks, just as blue skies began to break out amidst the fading dawn. Thomas said goodbye to Percy and Bradford, and watched as his friend depart for Vicarstown, before he started to head into the Steamworks.

...

"Thomas, are you sure about this?" Matthew asked quietly.

"Of course, Matthew- Victor and Kevin are great at fixing broken down engines! Plus, they're really friendly and helpful. They wouldn't turn you away." He assured his newfound brother.

"Who's there?" Matthew jumped at the sound of a foreign accent echo off the walls- accompanied by a puffing noise.

It turned out to be a tiny red tank engine that ran on narrow gauge rails, and had hazard stripes on his buffer beam. Frightened, Matthew averted his gaze from the engine's face.

"Hello, Thomas, my friend! What a surprise to see you at the Steamworks this early in the day! How can I help you?" He asked.

"Well, Thomas answered. "I need a favour, Victor. I found an abandoned engine in a siding last night"-

"Another one- this railway just appears to have lost engines popping up left, right and centre! But forgive the interruption, my friend. Please, continue."

"His name's Matthew and he's my long lost brother." Thomas continued.

Feeling a little braver now, Matthew dared to look at Victor's face- who gave him a friendly, warm smile in exchange.

"Well, I do see the similarity," The red engine agreed, grinning.

"Wait, I thought the E2s were all gone- except for Thomas!" A yellow crane added, as he suddenly came from around the corner, carrying a lot of tools and parts on a pallet. "How did he get to Sodor?"

"I don't know, Kevin," Thomas answered.

Matthew could see that the yellow crane was friendly looking- albeit rather confused.

"How would you know that, anyway?" Thomas added. "About nearly all of my brothers and sisters being lost to the cutter's torch?"

"Well, I just heard it," Mumbled Kevin sheepishly. "I heard from somewhere that all E2s were all scrapped, except for you!"

"Either that had changed since then, or your source is not very reliable," Mused Victor thoughtfully, studying Matthew's condition. It was obvious that a lot of work had to be done in order to restore him to his former glory. He could do it, though. He did have to restore 2 engines bigger than Matthew, after all.

"So, to cut to the chase, could you restore him? Please- he really needs your help!" Thomas pleaded.

The Cuban tank engine pondered for a moment, and then he smiled. "Of course, my friend- we'll do it."

"Yay- oh Victor, thank you so"-

"On one condition, however,"

Matthew and Thomas grew confused- Matthew also felt alarmed. He hoped that whatever it was, it wouldn't be difficult!

"You, my friend, are not doing what you did when you found Hiro." Victor said sternly. "It's not worth repeating past mistakes. You will tell Sir Topham Hatt this time. And I am positive that Matthew will not face any harm- aside from his 'no scrapping engines' policy, there is also the fact that E2 tank engines are very rare- he would never extinguish an important aspect of railway history. So, tell him, or I will."

"Okay, Victor, I will!" Thomas protested. "But thank you. It means a lot to me."

"Don't mention it," Victor replied modestly. "He'll be back on the rails again in no time!"

By now, Matthew began to wonder who- or what- this 'hero' was. From Victor's words, it did sound a bit like he- or she- had faced a similar, if not the same, dilemma.

"So, Thomas, who is this hero you're talking about?" He asked curiously.

"Hiro's a friend of mine," Thomas explained. "I found him a few years ago after a contest of strength with Spencer."

"Not your wisest moment, my friend," Victor said.

"Or my most clean!" Thomas added, chuckling. "But I wouldn't give up that day for the world. I lost a contest, but I made a new friend out of it."

"We all did!" Kevin agreed.

Matthew did feel a little better that he wasn't alone on being abandoned in a siding and forgotten about.

"Could I possibly...meet him?" He asked, quietly.

"Of course you can, Matthew!" Thomas agreed. "He works on the Mainland a lot, though, so you might have to wait a little while to meet him. But you can get to meet all of my other friends in the meantime!"


	5. Late for the Train

Thomas was excited at the fact that he had a brother; a fellow survivor of the E2 class! He was so giddy with euphoria over his discovery that he couldn't think of much else.

Victor, however, had the common sense to bring the little tank engine back to earth. "Thomas, my friend, I do hate to spoil your reunion; but you do have passenger trains on your Branchline this morning." He said gently.

Thomas gasped. "You're right, Victor! Annie and Clarabel will be waiting for me at my Branchline! Oh, I mustn't be late for my passengers!" He wheeshed loudly and backed out of the Steamworks. "Thank you, Victor!" he called, as he started to chuff away.

"Don't mention it, Thomas!" Victor called back, before returning his attention to Matthew, who just looked bewildered at his brother's antics.

"Not to worry, Matthew, I'll explain," he assured, and Matthew allowed himself to relax.

….

Thomas raced down the Mainline, still over the moon about meeting Matthew for the first time ever.

"Gosh, I can't wait to tell my friends about this!" He puffed to himself happily. "A fellow E2 survivor- it's not every day you meet one!"

"Thomas, slow down, will you?" His driver asked, trying to regain control of his engine, but failing miserably.

But the little tank engine never heard his driver, and continued racing along the line.

….

Annie and Clarabel were tittering with both anxiety (Clarabel) and anger (Annie) that Thomas still hadn't arrived yet.

Having finished his train early, Percy had kindly shunted his best friend's coaches into place to save Thomas time when he arrived; but was not pleased that Thomas hadn't shown up. Yet, he couldn't help but be worried as well.

"I just hope he's okay," He said to Clarabel.

"I bet he's just late!" Said Annie. "I've told him before about being tardy! He never listens!"

"Well, that's Thomas," Replied Clarabel. "But what if something has happened to him?"

Inside Annie and Clarabel, the passengers grumbled like angry bees, waiting for Thomas to arrive.

"Where is he, anyway?" Annie added, sternly.

Percy had a vague idea where his best friend had been. He also had a vague feeling that Thomas was dashing here with a (hopefully) half decent excuse. Boy, if Thomas was late for some trivial reason, Percy was going to have stern words with him later about worrying his coaches and annoying the passengers.

Suddenly, a loud and familiar whistle pierced the air, causing everyone to look in one direction.

Thomas raced into the station, red faced and panting, but looking happy and triumphant.

"You stupid engine!" Roared the stationmaster rudely. "What time do you call this?! I was going to have Percy pull your passengers if you hadn't shown up just now! Where the blazes have you been?"

"Steamworks," Thomas replied, in one breath. He was too exhausted to explain further, so he was let off the hook for the time being.

But Percy and the coaches were not so dismissive of their friend's tardiness.

"Thomas, where on Earth have you been?" Asked Annie, sternly. "You know we have passengers to take!"

"I'm sorry," Replied Thomas, sincerely. As excited as he was about his discovery, he was still remorseful for making his beloved coaches wait and worry unnecessarily. "But I have some wonderful news to tell you!" He added.

But before Thomas could elucidate further, the stationmaster blew his whistle, and waved his green flag. Thomas rolled his eyes, but regardless, he started off on his journey. "Goodbye, Percy!" He peeped. "And thanks for shunting Annie and Clarabel for me!"

"You're welcome!" Percy peeped back. He was just relieved that Thomas was alright… though he was still annoyed at him for making poor Annie and Clarabel fret…


	6. Confession to the Coaches

Author's Note: It's been a while since I updated this… so I hope you all enjoy this little update!

….

As Thomas chuffed along his branchline with his passengers, he became aware of Annie and Clarabel chattering away behind him. Thomas didn't mind, as they normally chatted or sang on occasion. He just enjoyed the beautiful views on his branchline.

But as they went further down the line, Thomas could hear Annie say his name. Feeling curious, he asked "What are you two talking about?"

"We were discussing how peculiar it was that you went to the Steamworks this morning," replied Annie. "You normally let us know if you're going. Are you ill, Thomas?"

"No…" Thomas replied, wondering where this conversation was going.

"Good! Now, why were you late this morning, Thomas?"

Thomas had no idea how to explain the wonderful news to two of his closest friends. How could he explain that he was no longer the only E2 on Sodor; that he had found his mysterious brother hidden on a siding?

"What if I don't feel like telling you anything?" The little tank engine challenged loftily, hoping to stall a little while longer while he though of how to explain the news.

"Oh, that's very hurtful of you, Thomas!" Lamented Annie. "We were worried sick! You hate tardiness!"

"I know, but"-

"We feared you befallen some misfortune before you arrived which delayed you!" Added Clarabel. "Please tell us why you were in the Steamworks this morning!"

Thomas hesitated. How could he explain something so earth shattering to two of his best friends?

"Please, Thomas; you know you can tell us anything, as always," Finished Annie softly.

This made Thomas feel a bit better, and he took a deep breath. "Alright," he sighed. "It'd be rude of me to keep this from you any longer. Percy and I found Bradford stranded last night on the Mainline, with no Samson in sight…."

And so, Thomas told Annie and Clarabel all about how he had found his brother, Matthew, on a siding, and of how he took Matthew to the Steamworks only that morning. When he finished, Annie and Clarabel could hardly believe it.

"That's excellent news, Thomas!" Exclaimed Annie, feeling delighted for her old friend. "It's astonishing! I never imagined that another E2 would be alive; let alone here on Sodor!"

"I know, I can hardly believe it myself," Replied Thomas, feeling baffled. "But I haven't yet heard how he survived the cutter's torch; nor how he came here to Sodor. So, I'm already feeling curious as to what his story is."

"Wow; and such a mysterious engine at that!" Marvelled Annie in amazement. "Isn't this so exciting, Clarabel!"

"Indeed, indeed!" Chimed Clarabel in agreement. "Could we meet Matthew? Your brother sounds like a nice engine."

"He is," Agreed Thomas. "I think we're polar opposites in personality, but that's good."

"Indeed," said Annie, "He might actually go less faster than Thomas!"

The two coaches giggled as Thomas went bright red in the face at the joke. He knew he often teased Annie and Clarabel by speeding along the branchline; but now it seemed the tables had turned, for they had been quick to joke on it.

However, he couldn't stay embarrassed for long, and his sudden silence was replaced by laughter, which rang loud and clear across the Sudrian air.

He couldn't wait to tell his friend Toby the Tram Engine about his newfound brother. Hopefully he didn't have to wait long before he encountered the faithful, plucky old tram; he felt as though his boiler would burst from the excitement of the news.


End file.
